


Robin Dies at the End

by AHaplessBystander



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Robin (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Jason Todd is Alive, Jason Todd is Red Hood, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Off-screen torture, Stephanie Brown is Robin, background Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-07 23:09:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12242448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHaplessBystander/pseuds/AHaplessBystander
Summary: Tim Drake has retired as Robin leaving Batman on his own once again but not for long as Stephanie convinces him she's the right person for the job whether he wants her or not. But it's not all fun and games as she learns from Nightwing and Red Hood. When the past comes back to haunt her can she rely on her new allies?





	Robin Dies at the End

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pentapus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pentapus/gifts).



> For Pentapoda's Batfam Reverse Big Bang prompt.  
> Art by Pentapus: [ here!](https://pentapoda.tumblr.com/post/166058836434/a-batfamreversebigbang-prompt-for)  
> Beta'd by Jayko, who knows almost nothing about Batman but was still willing to help.
> 
> I feel so lucky to have gotten the chance to write for a piece of Pentapoda's art. This story got a little out of hand.  
> Some things to note: Jason is Red Hood in this story and the Under the Red Hood story arc has already occurred. Tim though mentioned does not appear in this story. This is loosely based off of War Games and is a retelling of Stephanie's time as Robin. She deserved better than she got.  
> Enjoy!

Robin’s War Journal Day One: I’m toast.

Steph had had a lot of bad ideas in her life so far. Making her own costume, going out to fight crime at night, sleeping with that jerk Dean. But she had a feeling this one would take the cake.

Breaking into the Batcave had been easier than she had thought it would be. Which...made sense. Who would be dumb enough to break into the lair of the Batman? It would be a death sentence which she was really hoping wouldn’t be the case this time. 

Being a vigilante was gambling, it required luck. So far Steph felt she’d had a lot of that.

She gingerly picked her way through the pitch black of the cave, guided from the soft light from her phone screen. Her hand carrying it shook slightly and she took another deep breath. Staying calm and focused was the name of the game when facing Batman.

A lot was riding on his response tonight. Batman needed a Robin with Tim now retired and she was the one for the job. It wasn’t out of spite towards Tim she reminded herself again. He had the right to choose what he wanted in his life, leaving Robin, leaving her.

Stephanie heard the soft rustle of bat wings far above her and locked her phone, plunging into total darkness. She tried to breathe shallowly listening for any other sound.

“You might as well show yourself. Everything useful is shut down, “ a deep voice cut through the silence, “You can’t escape.”

Too late to back out now, she thought, you wanted an audience with Batman, you got one.

She searched the cave above her trying to pick out his movement in the darkness. Bright lights popped on sending spikes of pain from her eyes and making her shield her eyes.

“No fair! I can’t see!”

So much for her confidence, she grimaced internally when Batman addressed her by name.

“Stephanie.”

“No, not Stephanie, not even Spoiler. From now one on you call me Robin.” she said adjusting her mask down over her eyes. There were still white spots dancing in her vision but she glared up to where she thought the eyes of his mask were.  


Be firm, be strong. It was her mantra, looping in her head as she stared him down ignoring the prickles of nervous sweat on her scalp.  


One side of his mouth twitched, she really hoped that was a smile.  


“That homemade costume won’t do. And we may need to do something about your hair, Robin.” he said.  


That was it! As close to a yes as she would probably get!  


Steph couldn’t contain the smile that split across her face at that. Couldn’t stop from moving or hold back the need to jump and dance around the floor of the Batcave.

Robin’s War Journal Day One: It’s official! I made it! I’m in.

***

“Wait. You’re considering Stephanie?”  


“I’m more than considering her Dick, she’s got the job.” responded Bruce.  


“Haven’t you said, multiple times, that she wasn’t cut out for this life?”  


Jason could see the lines between Dick’s brows. His face getting more pinched the longer the conversation went on, from where he was sitting outside of the view of the camera laid out on the couch in the living room of Dick’s Bludhaven apartment. The remains of their Chinese takeout were strewn on the grimy coffee table and for once their costumes were out of sight.  


He rolled and unrolled the small, paper fortune from his cookie between the fingers of one hand as he listened. Dick had almost convinced him to read the stupid thing to him, ‘a short stranger will soon enter your life with blessings to share’, when the call had come in.  


“Maybe not as Spoiler, it’s true she lacks the skills and talent but she has the determination. Under my supervision and training she could be good.” Bruce said, “I tried to make her quit Dick. She stood up to me and defied me.”  


He studied Dick’s face and Jason had to wonder if it felt like Dick was being fired and replaced every time Batman took on a new Robin. Getting to relive that betrayal over and over. He felt a sick warmth settle in his stomach at the thought.  


“Have you even thought about what Tim’s reaction is going to be when he finds out you replaced him?” Dick spat back.  


Suddenly Jason wanted to leave, he had to fight the urge to slink out of the room whenever he heard them argue. Somehow it felt more like intruding than listening in on what was supposed to be a private conversation.  


“Tim quit. This is about Stephanie. Even if I told her no, she would still be going out there on her own. I’m training her so that she will survive.” Bruce continued.  


That shut them both up for a moment. Dick’s mouth hardening into a thin line.  


“Just tell me this isn’t about Tim. Isn’t some scheme to get him back.”  


“It isn’t.”  


Yeah fucking right, he thought. He met Dick’s eyes over the computer screen as he ended the call. The lines of his face smoothing out he gave Jason a tired smile, “Guess I’ll be commuting to Gotham for awhile.”  


“You always come when he calls.” Jason sneered, unmuting the news they had been watching.  


“I come when any one of us needs help. And I have a feeling they are both going to need it.” Dick sighed.

***

Robin’s War Journal Day Thirty-Five: Superhero training begins!

She was on probation according to Batman. No going on patrols and no learning any big secrets. Stephanie could deal with that, she was willing to do whatever it took, especially now that her training was finally beginning for real.  


It had taken almost a month to get everything prepared, coming up with a believable story for her mother, cutting her hair and getting her finished costume. When Alfred had presented it to her she didn’t hold back her squeal of excitement and thanked the older man who had looked down at her with a sad smile. Steph didn’t understand his somber mood, this was the day she had been waiting for!  


For all her excitement she could also feel the weight of Batman’s words to her after she put on the costume for the first time. Stephanie stood in front of him as Robin and he told her that she had one chance, if she disobeys any of his orders she’s out. Done. And she’s not going to let that happen.

***

Robin’s War Journal Day 62: I’ll show him who hits like a girl.

From the day her training as Robin started on her lifestyle changed. Steph didn’t go out on patrol at night anymore, instead everyday after school she would head to the Batcave and train with Batman.  


They started fairly simple, he would give her tests, assign practices and then test her again until her ability was to his satisfaction. Every day they sparred together, Steph was getting more of a workout than she had fighting crime. All her muscles had felt worked over and bruised the first week. After the workout and sparring it was lockpicking, code cracking and investigation skills. Now she knew how to get herself out of handcuffs and was able to identify fingerprints from the same person.  


But around every corner, with every accomplishment she made there was Tim.  


Tim was stronger than this.  


By this point Tim would have perfected that.  


Tim, who had given this all up so easily at one word from his father. Leaving his whole life and everything associated with it. Including Stephanie.  


She knew Batman was doing it to make her angry, to egg her on. At night, laying in her bed at home aching was when she let other feelings to the surface. Tim had done his best to stay by her even when he couldn’t truly be beside her as Tim Drake. During her pregnancy he had been her rock, helping her through the moments when she had felt so alone.  


Her mother told her that Tim had called again asking for her and once again her mom had told him that she was out.  


Steph contemplated calling him back some nights.  


What would she even say to him now?  


I’m Robin now and I’m not going to give it up like you did. I’ll be a better Robin.

***

Robin’s War Journal Day 80: Time for the real thing.

This was it, Batman was finally taking her on a patrol of the city. She was under strict orders to stay near him and not engage any criminals. More of a watch and learn which she felt was a little unfair considering how long she’d been running around as Spoiler.  


The excitement overcame those feelings when they got into the city. She stood on top of a building surveying the cityscape with Batman. Steph was really Robin.  


‘Take that Tim,’ she thought.  


In the distance they heard the sound of shouting and glass shattering. Batman fired his grapple, swinging off in the direction of the sounds. Stephanie got her own grapple out from her fancy utility belt and fired it, follow after him.

***

This was a waste of a night. Dick had talked him into coming to Gotham to act as backup during the new replacements first patrol in the city. All they had done so far was follow Batman and Robin at a distance.  


Jason wasn’t impressed with what he saw. She looked impulsive and too eager to please. They had tapped into their comm chatter and she sounded too young. The comments she made were joking and light, making conversation instead of focusing.  


“Com’on Jay, she’s allowed to be excited her first time. I seem to remember you being eager,” Dick said, reaching over and giving his hair a ruffle.  


He should have worn his helmet.  


Maybe it was unfair to judge her so soon since he had never met her like Dick had. Still she wasn’t good enough to be Robin. Tim had finally gained the skills to be a good Robin and then he had left. And Stephanie, she didn’t look like she had near the skill that Tim had. Jason knew the hard way what could happen to a naive Robin and he didn’t she would last long.  


They watched as the two found some thugs attempting a robbery and engaged them. Robin doing as she’d been told. Dick saw the last thug before he did, approaching from behind the duo. Dick flipped off of the rooftop they were on to subdue the criminal.  


Nightwing wasn’t quite quick enough to make the save though, Jason saw the thug come up behind Robin and swing his baseball bat into her before Nightwing took him with several well placed blows.  


No awareness. Just like he’d thought.

***

“This sucks,” Stephanie said.  


She was sitting on a table in the Batcave being taped up by Alfred. Batman had sent her back to base immediately after she took the hit. It wasn’t fair, it had totally not been her fault. At least Batman had only said she was benched for the night.  


Nightwing had given her a ride back on his motorcycle and that’s when she’d gotten her first glance at the man accompanying him. The Red Hood, someone Tim had only told a little about and mostly to avoid.  


He was mostly silent, openly glaring at her when she did look over at him. Nightwing had to convince him to even enter the Batcave and he seemed to fidget the whole time he was there.  


She ended up with a cold compress taped to her middle and a diagnosis of a deep muscle bruise, nothing broken. She sighed and made unhappy noises as Alfred and Nightwing went to clean up, leaving her alone with Red Hood.  


“So, you think this is a game?” his voice was sudden, cutting through the space of the cave.  


“What? Like this hasn’t ever felt like a game to you guys?” she shot back.  


What was his problem, she didn’t need to be serious all the time. It had just been some bad luck.  


“If that’s what you really think then you should quit now. You’re not cut out to be Robin. If this is just some game so that you can impress Tim then you need to leave.”  


“What the hell! Listen here bucko!--” she got cut off by Nightwing coming back into the cave and giving them both stern looks.  


“I think that’s enough for the night. Stephanie, Alfred will take you home,” he told her.  


Great. Just great.

***

The next day when she arrived at the cave both Batman and Nightwing were waiting for her. No more patrols for now and not just because of her injury. Batman was being called out on business for the Justice League and would be gone for several days. Nightwing would be taking over her training while he was gone.  


So the next day Stephanie was put through some far different training under her new mentor for the moment. Nightwing was far more lax than Batman, spending more time chatting with her and showing her all kinds of tricks. It was fun.  


Nightwing was also okay with her knowing his secret identity, his name was Dick. Which she silently found hilarious. At the end of the night Alfred drove her home and she left lighter than she had in days.  


The day after, she arrived to find the Batcave empty after school. It was still daylight so Dick couldn’t be out on patrol yet. Alfred arrived and brought a plate of sandwiches for her, informing her that Dick should return soon from responding to an emergency in Gotham.  


Steph was munching her way through the sandwiches when her cell started to ring. It was her mom. That was odd, her mom knew she was over at her friend Alvin Draper’s so they could study together.  


“Hey mom!”  


“Sweetheart, please tell you’re somewhere safe,” her mom sounded worried.  


“Yeah I’m over at Alvin’s, what’s going on?”  


“There’s been a breakout in Blackgate. The police called me, they say that your father is one of the people who escaped. I want to you to stay there tonight if you can, I’m going to be on shift at the hospital. The police will bring him in but I want you to stay somewhere safe tonight.”  


“Oh my god. Yeah, yeah I can do that. You stay safe too.”  


She hung up on her mom and sat there stunned. Her dad couldn’t be alive, they had gotten an official letter stating his death and Tim had told her he’d been recruited by into the Suicide Squad and been killed while on a mission.  


Stephanie was still sitting there trying to sort through her thoughts when Dick and Red Hood pulled into the cave on their motorcycles. She turned to watch them disembark.  


“Where have you been?” she asked.  


“Cleaning up a prison break,” came the tired reply.  


“Is it true?”  


“What?” Dick asked back, confused.  


“That my dad, Cluemaster, he’s alive. That he was one of the people who broke out.”  


Dick shared a look with Red Hood that pretty much told her everything she needed to know.  


“According to the police yes. We spent the evening trying to track down the escapees but didn’t have much luck. The plan now is to wait.”  
They were going to wait, while her dad (who was somehow alive) could be out there planning to murder innocent people. There was no waiting.  


Dick and Red Hood had headed into the lockers to change from their costumes. She grabbed her backpack from the table and the keys to the Robin-cycle. If they weren’t going to keep looking then she would. Steph was always the one to stop her father.  


She was forced to stop when a broad body stepped in front of her, she didn’t recognize Red Hood for a moment without his mask or costume.  


“And where do you think you’re going?” he asked.  


“Out there, to find my dad before he can do any damage.”  


“Oh no, you’re staying right here.”  


“What? Why? I have to do this, I have to stop him. I’ll go on my own if I have to,” she said angrily, why couldn’t he just get out of her way. He had hardly taken notice of her except to mock her before.  


“You are not going out alone, doesn’t matter who it is you want to go after.”  


Stephanie stared him down.  


“You wanted to know why I was doing this? Why I became Robin? Because that’s my dad out there! The guy who used to get me presents and take me to stores. He’s out there hurting people and I have to stop him, he’s my responsibility.”  


Red Hood’s lip started to curl into a snarl.  


“Jason,” she heard Dick warn from behind her but it did nothing to stop the other man.  


“It’s not safe!” he shouted, hand darting out and wrenching the keys from her grip.  


It was such a sudden explosion that all three of them stood there frozen for a moment. Jason looked from her to the keys he held in his hand now, raised above them. His face morphed to a stricken look and he took off up the stairs and out of the cave.  


Dick put a hand on her shoulder.  


“It isn’t safe. We’ll all go back out tomorrow but for now you should stay with us. I’ll have Alfred prepare a room for you. I think Batman will be okay with some of his secrets being revealed in this sort of situation.”  


She quietly let him lead her up the stairs and into Wayne Manor.

***

Jason was curled up on Dick’s bed in the dark when he finally heard the door click open quietly. Soft footsteps crossed the room and the bed dipped as Dick got on it, curling his own body around Jason’s. He couldn’t get his hands to stop shaking.  


“Hey,” Dick whispered petting his side, “What’s going on with you?”  


Jason let a full body shudder go through him and leaned into Dick’s touch.  


“I don’t know. I--I just look at her and see myself as Robin. I stood there and--and yelled at her, like I was him.”  
Jason turned over to face Dick and looked into his eyes.  


“She’s just like me. She wants to go out and face the world alone. I’m afraid she’s going to die,” he whispered, clutching Dick.  


“I understand. I get it. It’s going to be okay Jason.”  


Dick kept running his hand through his hair and whispering soothing things to him until he finally felt calm enough to sleep.

***

Jason had gotten roughly two hours of sleep. He wasn’t sure he had even really managed that or if time was just slipping by faster than it felt while he laid in bed with his eyes closed attempting to get some form of rest. Half his mind was focused on keeping still despite his need to toss and turn on his side of the bed. He didn’t want to wake Dick up, he needed his rest.

The clock on the bedside table blinked ever closer to three a.m. and Jason’s head felt like it was overheating. He was frustrated, mostly with himself but that knowledge didn’t help him. Usually when he was like this Jason found the best way was to work the energy off, most often by beating some thugs half to death. Nothing worked better than that for clearing his mind.

That wasn’t really an option at the moment.

So, three in the morning found him slipping out of bed and out into the hallway so he could walk. Jason had always found Wayne Manor at night a little unsettling, it was too quiet, too empty. It felt forbidding and dead still despite the efforts of its inhabitants to bring more life to it.

The wood floors were cold beneath his feet as he paced down them. He passed by the guest room Alfred had prepared for Stephanie and stopped. Eyes boring into the door and emotions churning as their altercation was once again brought to the front of his mind. He gave in to the sudden urge to peek into the room and check on her.

Guest rooms in Wayne Manor were tastefully decorated if sparse. Jason peered into the soft darkness of it, the drapes pulled across the window only letting a small amount of light in. The room was small, with a single bed, a chair and a dresser. The bed was empty.

“Fuck.”

Jason pushed open the door and did a quick search of the room, finding none of Stephanie’s things and the window locked.

“Shit!”

He ran back down the hall, no longer caring about the noise he made and burst back into Dick’s bedroom. The other man was still asleep, face peaceful.  
Jason felt a quick pang of regret as he grabbed Dick’s shoulder, shaking him.

“Wake up Dick. Wake up! She’s gone!”

Dick jolted from sleep, sucking in a quick breath and looking up at him groggily.

“Jay?”, he asked.

“Stephanie’s gone!”, Jason said, “I couldn’t sleep so I checked her room and she’s not there.”

“Hey, hey, calm down,” Dick said, sitting up and placing his hands on Jason’s shoulders, his touch grounding him from the panic that had snuck up on him, “we’ll go check the cave, we’ll find her Jason.”

They took the elevator down to the cave where all the vehicles were still in place. Nothing had been turned on or moved since they had last been down and checking the security measures showed that no one had broken out or tripped any alarms.

“Okay, so now we check the house. She probably couldn’t sleep just like you,” Dick said, trying to be rational.

They started with the obvious places, the kitchen, library and den. There was no sign that Steph had been there so they went room to room before finally giving in and waking up Alfred as well. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since delivering her to the guest room. However, his eye did prove helpful, leading them to the front door where they found the deadbolts undone but the handle still locked.

“So what she just walked out and nothing caught it? All of the cycles are here, we’re not that close to Gotham!” said Jason.

“But it has been hours.” Dick responded, “Bruce did say she was hardheaded.”

They met each other’s eyes and both started back toward the cave.

“I’ll summon Master Bruce back to Gotham,” Alfred called after them.

***

Contrary to what most people seemed to think of her, Stephanie actually did some things because she enjoyed them, not just because they would make her a better vigilante. She actually liked track. She had started to get into better fighting shape, but had found she actually liked running.

And for once the Gotham night was clear and cool, perfect for a run into the city. Not that she had run the whole way. Steph had figured she had a good hour or so head-start if they were actually getting some sleep like they had said. The Manor had been quiet when she’d left, she didn’t even really sneak out so much as grab a bottle of water from the kitchen and walk out the door. She knew the cave was monitored and probably the Manor as well, but taking a bike from the cave would have been sure to set off an alarm.  
Walking to Gotham had been a decent workout, the stamina she’d gained from all of her training was paying off. As she came into the more densely populated suburbs of the city she found a bus stop, Gotham never slept so neither did it’s public transit. She only had to wait half an hour for a bus toward downtown to come by and boarded, garnering a look from the driver that he thought she was a runaway.

Which, technically she was.

Stephanie spent the bus ride contemplating her next move. Dick had probably been right that they should wait until the escapees made another move. If they were smart they would go to ground, keep quiet until they were ready.

Her dad wouldn't head home, the police would have it staked out by now. She didn't have knowledge of his other hideouts, she had always waited until he left clues to his crimes in the past. But if he was really alive then she wanted to get to him first this time.

So, she would get changed, stash her things and patrol. Maybe she would find something or at least be able to stop any crimes in progress.

She got off the bus when it entered the city proper, climbing her way onto the rooftops and shed her street clothes for the Robin costume underneath. She took off, keeping an ear and an eye out for anything unusual. There was no earpiece this time to patch her into Alfred or the police scanner. But there were plenty of police units out on patrol. She chased after a few, hoping they would lead her to some clue or the position of one of the escaped villains. It proved fruitless and left her feeling like she was just wasting time again.  
Her mind turned back to her dad. It had been a relief to hear that he was dead -- his death at least kind of making up for his crimes, no longer out hurting people. Stephanie struggled still to reconcile the man her father had turned into, or maybe had always been, with the person she had known as a child.

He hadn't been in her life for that long, disappearing for longer periods of time as she got older. But Steph still had good memories of him and the feelings those brought up were hard to banish.

There had been a toy store in Gotham near where she was now, that her father had taken her to every time he had come home. It had been their favorite. Those were her last good memories of him.

And that, that was why she had to be the one to stop him. It was why she would spoil all of his games.

The toy store. It had been their thing, the one constant of his visits. Maybe a place he would still go. The thought of it wouldn't leave her mind. It couldn't hurt to check, nothing else had given her any leads yet after all.

Off over the rooftops again, using her grapple but also trying to keep her head low. She would be so surprised if they didn't know she was gone yet, they had to be out looking for her by now. The lights of the city flew by, fewer shops and buildings open in the loneliest part of the morning. It felt quiet for a night in Gotham, especially one after a prison breakout, like the whole city was holding it’s breath and waiting.

The store was nestled in a quieter neighborhood, all the stores along the front closed for the night and not another soul in sight. It looked exactly like the last time she had been there, untouched by the chaos of the city, frozen in time.

Steph found a good vantage point on a rooftop across the street and hunkered down to wait and watch for a bit.

Fifteen minutes later and Stephanie was starting to wonder if the reports were accurate or if her dad was dead and it had been some copycat. Her eyes were left staring down into the store windows as her thoughts swirled. As she stared she came to the sudden realization that she was looking at a small square of paper tucked into the corner of the window with the bold R of the Robin symbol printed on it.

She did a quick check of the area but saw no one so she slipped down the building and across the street to the shop’s window. The card didn’t look like it had been there for long, there was no weathering from Gotham’s near constant rain and there was no doubt that if the shop owner had found it they would have gotten rid of it.

It was made of thick cardstock and when she turned it over there was an address printed on the back. The address was in Gotham but not one she recognized off the top of her head. It had to be a clue from her dad. A clue for Robin, for her.

Somehow he must’ve found out that she was Robin now.

But what the hell would he be up to, leaving clues specifically for her when he knows she wants to stop him. Steph mulled over those thoughts, staring at the note when she felt a sudden sharp pain in her neck. It was enough to shock a gasp out of her and she put her hand up to her neck where she felt a dart stuck into her skin.

‘Crap! How dumb am I?!’ was the last coherent thought to run through her head as she heard footsteps rapidly approaching.

She whirled around to try to face her opponent and her head started to spin. Her balance felt off. Out of her peripheral vision she caught the shape of something being swung toward her and dodged, tripping over her own feet and narrowly missing being hit by a nightstick. It was being wielded by someone who looked to be a common street thug. She saw no gun on him though.

He advanced quickly, getting into her space as she tried to back away. His next swing came faster than she could react and caught her in the side of her head, she fell and her vision went blurry, fading into black of the night.

***

The first feeling to come back to her was the sharp pain in her head. Everything was fuzzy, her thoughts and the sounds around her. Steph tried to push it away, to concentrate on anything else only to find more, different pain. Her arms felt numb suspended above her, little pricks of pins and needles along her shoulders.

As she worked past the pain, things around her started to clear. She was in a dark room, her hands were cuffed above her, utility belt gone and when she raised her head, found two more people in the room with her.

Her dad and Black Mask.

Stephanie knew she was hard-headed. She knew she had difficulty following orders. She knew she could handle what came at her, but this time she had to admit to herself that she was in a bad spot.

Her dad was the first to notice that she was awake.

“Hello sweetheart.” he said.

Steph shook her head weakly and tried not to wince from the movement.

“I’m not your sweetheart.” she grit out, “What are you doing?”

“What I need to, I’m going to make you a better Robin.”

He took a breath but was cut off by Black Mask who put a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Alright, that’s enough. You wanted to talk to her, you had your chance.”

“She just woke up, I want more time!”

“We had a deal. I get you out of prison, you get me Robin. Seems like we’ve both held up our parts of the bargain.” Black Mask said and gave the door behind him a knock and several men entered the room flanking her father.

"Wait, what are you--" he tried to say as the men grabbed his arms and forced him from the room.

Steph slid her eyes to Black Mask, meeting his gaze head on. She stiffened, trying to keep any emotion from her face.

"Now, you and I are going to have a little chat." He said, approaching her and slowly cracking the knuckles of each hand, "Tell me about the Batman."

***

They had decided to take their motorcycles, make the search go faster. They had started on the road from the Manor itself toward Gotham but eventually had to part ways as it branched off into the suburbs.

Dick was trying to keep him talking even as they searched different districts. Ideas, reassurances and observations, just knowing that Jason couldn’t be alone in his head at the moment. He raced down the city streets as the Red Hood and could only think that it was his fault. Kept replaying over and over the things he had said and what could happen to Stephanie if she got caught alone by the wrong villain.

“We know she’s after her father,” Dick said, he seemed to be waiting for Jason to acknowledge him so he gave a short grunt into his comm, “He escaped from the prison during the breakout. Which the police have suspicions was orchestrated by Black Mask and executed by his men.”

Fucking perfect. It just had to be Roman Sionis, Jason should’ve killed him when he had the chance. It would have saved them the trouble he kept managing to cause with his power grabbing in the Gotham underworld.

“If he was the one behind it, he might also be harboring some of the people he sprung.” Dick continued.

It was their best lead, Dick was right. It would certainly give them a better place to start than driving through the city and searching for a needle in a haystack.

“Meet you at his building downtown,” Jason responded.

Jason was trying to be levelheaded about this, not let his emotions rule him. But once he started thinking about what Roman could do to Stephanie, he couldn’t stop his insides from going cold and then boiling. Roman was sick, he loved torture and didn’t care who his victims were. At least some other villains had standards, lines even they wouldn’t cross but Black Mask pushed his own lines and was on a road that would make him on par with the worst Gotham had to offer.

So Jason just kept looking straight ahead and going forward to meet Dick but he couldn’t stop the flashing image of a crowbar going through his mind.

He met up with Nightwing on a rooftop that made for a good vantage point of Roman’s newest building. His money was dirty, but it still bought nice buildings and fancy security. All of which seemed to be patrolling the building this early morning.

“No obvious signs of Robin. But parts of this building are protected against thermal radar.” Dick said, switching through the modes on his mask, “Sure are a lot of goons though, even if Robin’s not in there I’m willing to bet someone else is.”

“Let’s go knock on his door then.”

“What if she’s not there?” Dick asked.

“What if she is?” he shot back, they didn’t have time for doubts at the moment.

Dick studied the building for another moment before giving him a nod.

“Batman is on his way. Jay, promise me…”

“Dick. I can’t.” Jason met the white eyes of his mask and trying to put enough of his emotion through in his voice through the faceless helmet, “I can’t promise you that right now.”  
Jason wouldn’t let another Robin go unavenged. He would do what he had to.

His face was grim as they shot their grapples and made their way to one of the higher floors of Black Mask’s building. The dark windows were an easy entry point but as soon as they were in alarms started blaring in the hallway they’d come into. Within moments guards were barreling down the hallway, radioing back to whoever was listening that two vigilantes had broken in.

This was what Jason needed right now, second to actually finding Stephanie, faces to punch in. The guards came at them from two directions but were taken down easily by Nightwing and himself.

Nightwing crouched and grabbed one of the guard’s radios, listening to the chatter over it for a moment. Sounded like there were a lot more people headed their way, but also being sent several more floors above them.

“Bingo,” Dick said looking up at him.

All hell broke loose then, armed guards flooding into the hallway along with rough looking civilians wielding guns.

“Fantastic,” he muttered under his breath as he set his sights on the door to a stairwell that people were coming in from. Going up then.

Nightwing and Red Hood fought their way through the horde of people, their numbers making it hard for them to get shots off between each other, toward the stairway. It was taking longer than Jason had hoped it would take them. The number of attackers was getting ridiculous, was there anyone in the building who was just a civilian Jason wondered.  


Getting into the stairwell made the fight slightly easier, though Dick gave him a sharp look when he almost pushed a guard over the railing, instead throwing him into his comrades.

Up the stairs they went, until finally reaching the floor that the defenses were supposed to keep them from. The stairwell door on this level opened into a nicely furnished lobby area, with doors and hallways leading off it, as well as an elevator which the bright red number above indicated was coming down.

Jason leveled one of his guns at the doors at they pinged, and slowly slid open to one surprised Black Mask. Jason shoved his arm into the way of the elevator doors so they wouldn’t close.

“Hi there. Miss me?” he asked in a sweet voice.

“Shit,” was the wide eyed response he got.

***

Robin’s War Journal Day Something: Why did I do this?

Stephanie was losing time. Her eyes kept closing and not opening right away, she couldn’t tell how much time was passing. Everything hurt, it was hard to focus and access what was wrong but she could feel the wetness of blood and hear a rasp with every short breath she sucked in.  


She was in pain but she had given Black Mask nothing. He had left the room and Steph had hardly noticed. There was no way to tell how long he had been gone or when he would come back.  


How wrong she had been in going out on her own. She had started this war on her own and she had thought she would be able to finish it on her own if no one else would help her. But she knew it so keenly now that she had been rash.  


Jason. Dick. They had been trying to help, trying to look out for her and she had just ignored them. They had deserved her trust, Stephanie had only seen them as getting in the way of stopping her father.  


She felt herself drifting again and let it happen, hanging loosely from her arms. When she had started going out as a vigilante, she had tried to fully prepare herself for the possibility that she might not go home one night. That she might die. And somehow she had lost sight of that, had felt invincible with Tim and Batman helping her.  


Stephanie didn’t want to die. It was the first clear and bright thought in her head since the beating had begun. She could see her mom alone and wasting away by throwing herself into her work at the hospital. She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let her father keep walking free to destroy more lives.  


Batman had given her everything she needed to get herself out of something like this, her belt was gone but if she could get a hand free she knew she could get out. His words came back through her head and she focused on them, the deep measure of his voice, that pain was just a message. To acknowledge it and set it aside.  


She pulled with her left arm, feeling the sharp metal dig further into her wrist pas the numbness. It was nothing she told herself, she had been through so much worse than this. She pulled harder. This pain was nothing compared to bringing another life into the world. It was nothing like the pain of handing her baby to someone else, knowing she wouldn’t be able to give it the life it deserved.  


Blinding pain struck her as her hand slipped loose from the shackle. Her arm fell to her side, the burning sensation of blood returning to it more overpowering than breaking her fingers to get loose. She didn’t need use of her whole hand anyways. Sucking in deep breaths through her nose, she brought her left hand up and was able to use her teeth to pull the lockpick partway out of her glove and lift it farther to her other hand. Taking long moments to finally break the lock open.  


Steph immediately collapsed, having no strength to hold herself up. More time was lost, she felt it as she blinked her eyes open, not realizing she had let them close. Slowly, too slowly, she pulled her limbs underneath her and was able to crawl over to the table in the room and haul herself up, finally getting her feet steady beneath her body.  


Surprise was the only reason she was able to get past the guard stationed outside the door, her opening it as violently as she could, the heavy wood of it knocking him to the ground giving her the opportunity to grab his gun and strike him with it until he lay dazed on the floor.  


There was no one else in sight and she couldn’t hear any indication of other people. Stephanie limped to the door marked as a stairwell. This one she opened slowly, listening and hearing shouts and rapid movement far below.  


“Stephanie!”  


She whirled around, finding her father coming out from one of the doors on the floor. He was still in his prison jumpsuit.  


“I’m glad you’re still alive. You were able to pass this test,” he said.  


“Test?” she whispered, eyebrows drawing together, “How was this a test?”  


He held his hands out toward her, “We’re Browns, I made you who you are. I made you Spoiler. And now I’m making you a better Robin. I’m going to finish making you into who you’re supposed to be!”  


She shook her head. He was right. He had made Spoiler through his crimes, but Spoiler was her’s, Spoiler had always just been Stephanie.  


“I just want to be me,” she said slowly raising the gun in her hand to aim at her father, “And what I want, is to stop you.”  


“Sweetheart, you’re not going to kill me. I’m your father.”  


Again, Stephanie shook her head. She smiled sadly back at him.  


“You’re right. I’m not.”  


She aimed the gun lower and fired, the bullet kneecapping him and making him go down screaming in pain. He wouldn’t be able to get far like that and would need a hospital to fix it, the police would find him then if they weren’t already on their way.  


A wave of dizziness shuddered through her and the gun slipped from her grasp. She needed to get out of here, she was losing too much blood. Limping over to the elevator she decided to take her chances with it instead of the stairs.  


She got in and as the doors were closing her father called out to her, the rattle of them cutting off the sound of her name.

***

Jason forced Black Mask out of the elevator and into the stairwell. Faced with two vigilantes and a gun to his head he readily agreed to cooperate, leading them up the stairs to where he was supposedly keeping Stephanie.  


These floors were quieter when Dick opened the door for each floor they passed, giving them a quick check. When they reached the right one, they found a guard and Cluemaster both lying unconscious but alive. Cluemaster was lying in a small pool of blood stemming from a gunshot wound to his knee.  


As Dick checked on them, Jason let Black Mask lead him into the room where he claimed he had Stephanie. She was gone but she had been here. Jason had seen terrible things in life and had done his share of them but the sight of the shackles hanging for the ceiling and the blood on the floor made him grit his teeth.  


He threw Black Mask into the darkened window of the room. His body slamming hard against it. Jason pressed the barrel of his gun back to the man’s head.  


“Where. Is. She?” he ground out.  


“I don’t know. She was here, now she’s gone. That’s it.”  


“Not good enough,” Jason said as he pressed him harder against the window.  


“Hood!” Dick’s voice sharply cut in.  


Jason gave a quick glance to his concerned face and let out an annoyed sound. He grabbed Black Mask and spun him around, bringing his arms up and locking them together in a choke hold. The man struggled against him until passing out. Jason dropped him to the floor and cuffed his hands behind his back. He felt Dick’s hand on his shoulder and let his approval warm him for a moment.  


Dick called in an anonymous tip to the police and they examined the rooms and hall for signs of where Stephanie could have gone.  


“If all that blood was from her then she’s probably pretty badly injured. She can’t have gotten far like that.” Dick said.  


“Yeah that’s what we said before and look how far she got,” Jason responded in a tight voice.  


Dick’s comm pinged and he answered it, listening with a serious face that could only mean Batman was on the other end.  


“I’m in Black Mask’s building downtown. I’m with Red Hood,” he spoke into in, “We found evidence that Roman had captured Robin and tortured her, as of right now her location is unknown.”  


Dick listened for awhile more before turning to Jason and saying quietly, “The clinic.”  


They secured Black Mask and Cluemaster before bugging out. They stopped to grab their cycles and rushed over to Leslie’s clinic. Dick’s voice in his ear the whole time, repeating to him that Stephanie was still alive. Jason couldn’t tell if he knew that for sure or was just saying it in hopes of making it true.

***

Once again Stephanie felt her consciousness returning slowly, unsure of her surroundings and feeling odd. Her sluggish mind tried to do a quick check of her body but couldn’t feel anything. Numbness, which was a sweet and scary change from the constant pain last time she had been awoken.  


She didn’t want to open her eyes but tried to anyways. She’d made it so far, she couldn’t stop now.  


The light in the room was soft, dim and as her eyes took in the white ceiling above her the rest of her senses invaded. The room smelled strongly of antiseptic and a soft beeping was coming from behind her. She shifted her gaze to the black shape next to her. Batman.  


“Batman,” she mumbled, mouth not working how she wanted.  


“I’m here. You’re at the Thompkins Clinic, you made it,” he said softly.  


“My dad…” she started.  


“It’s fine, just rest. Nightwing and Red Hood have taken care of everything. The only thing that matters is that you’re safe.” he gave her hand a squeeze.  


They had come after her. They had tried to save her, even after her stupidity. She felt hot tears start to well up as the past few months ran through her head. Everything leading up to this.  


She looked up at Batman, “Was I ever really Robin? Was it real?”  


“Of course you were.”  


Stephanie was able to smile at that. That was good, it had been what she had thought she wanted. Her tears spilled down onto her face and she let out a sob.  


“I don’t think I can be Robin. I don’t think I can be who you want to me be.”  


“You just need to be you, that’s all you’ve ever needed to be.”  


“I think I need to rest now,” she felt so heavy.  


“I’ll be right here watching over you.”  


She closed her eyes and let her mind wander. She was still aware enough to hear the door open awhile later and hear hushed conversation.  


“How is she?”  


“Stable for the moment. She’s going to need some strength for surgery.”  


“What do we tell her mom?”  


“We’ll figure something out.”  


Stephanie felt the pressure of her other hand being taken and softly squeezed. She opened her eyes again and saw Jason, out of costume, on her other side. Her hand shifted to link her fingers through his and gave a small squeeze back before closing her eyes again.  


Just be herself huh. She’d wing it, figure it out like she always did.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like this could use more work, more fleshing out. Either way it was a lot of fun to write and I hope it was entertaining. Thanks for reading!


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